OFFSTAGE: Eric Church on the Worst Reason to Make Music

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that’s happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

Come on, Eric Church. Hurry up and make another great album already. It’s been, like, more than a year since you gave us Chief. That’s how I feel about waiting on Church. And if you’re in the same boat, you are not going to like this news. He is not anywhere close to making his next album, he said in an interview with Billboard
. “I’m not in a hurry,” he said. “I’m never in a hurry to make records. Never will be. I’m waiting on the creative process to tell me what’s next.” He said he isn’t going to be an artist who makes his records so the label can make its numbers. “That’s the worst reason in the world to make music,” he said. “I still think there has to be evolution … and it would be very disappointing for us to come to the point we’ve come to and not have that next record show great evolution because I think the best bands and best artists do that.” Well, if he’s promising us great evolution, I guess we can wait.